23 April 2013 5:52 PM

A couple of lengths of the hotel pool or a quick dip in the sea is the closest most of us get to swimming on holiday. But how about learning to do laps like an Olympic athlete on your next break?

Gold medal-winning swimmer Rebecca Adlington will be helping guests at the Palm Island resort in the Grenadines to do just that by launching a swimming workshop at the Caribbean retreat.

The workshop will be free to guests staying at the exclusive 135-acre private island resort and will consist of four swimming sessions, lasting up to three hours, in the resort’s pool and the surrounding Caribbean sea.

Rebecca will offer simple advice for beginners and technical tips for more experienced swimmers.

She'll also be giving tips on common technical errors, nutrition and the "land work" swimmers carry out for fitness, and advanced swimmers will find out how to improve their performance or time.

The session will conclude with an optional "open water swim challenge" and one-to-one time with Rebecca who will answer any specific questions you have.

Adlington’s sparkling career makes her Britain’s most successful swimmer.

She emerged from obscurity to win two gold medals on her Olympic debut in Beijing in 2008 and announced her retirement earlier this year, having won a medal in every Olympic race she entered.

She said she was now keen to pass on the health and therapeutic benefits of swimming on holiday, which include improved flexibility, muscle toning and stress relief.

Warm sea water swimming can also boost the immune system, improve circulation and ease aches and pains.

"Swimming is my life, in and out of its role for me as a competitive sport", Adlington said. "What better place to share the wider ways in which it’s impacted on my life physically, emotionally and overall wellbeing than on a stunning private island with still turquoise waters to demonstrate that in!"

The first two workshops are scheduled for August 11-14 2013 and May 4-7 2014. Virgin Holidays is offering a seven-night "SwimFit Palm Island with Becky Adlington" package including flights from London Gatwick and the free workshop with Becky Adlington from £2,099 per person for departures on August 11 2013. To book visit www.virginholidays.co.uk/swimfitwithbecky or

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22 April 2013 3:57 PM

Hollywood star Orlando Bloom and his model wife Miranda Kerr won’t have to worry about bagging a free upgrade on their flights to Australia.

Miranda is an ambassador for Australian airline Qantas and now Orlando has been snapped up by rival airline British Airways.

The Pirates of the Caribbean actor is set to make a special appearance at an event in Sydney next month to promote BA’s route from London to Sydney.

The airline said it had chosen Bloom to represent its company because he possessed "quintessential British style, glamour and elegance".

Of course, Bloom won't have to travel economy on the flight out to Sydney and is instead looking forward to putting his feet up in the first class cabin on board the airline’s latest aircraft, the Boeing 777-300ER.

"As someone that flies regularly, I love nothing more than to kick back and relax and enjoy the great amenities and service British Airways first class has to offer", he said.

Just last week, Kerr – who has a two-year-old son with Bloom - took to the catwalk in Sydney to model Qantas’ new uniforms (pictured above).

The brunette strutted down the catwalk in a figure-hugging navy shift dress featuring pink and red diagonal stripes.

Qantas and BA had previously enjoyed a 17-year-long partnership but that ended last September. Qantas instead formed an alliance with Emirates, while BA became partners with Cathay.

BA then revealed revamped planes on the London-Sydney route and hosted a fashion show on board one of their planes in Sydney with Georgia May Jagger modelling the clothes.

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said of Bloom’s appearance for BA: "We're not going to marry British Airways with Qantas to keep the couple together. We tried that before and it didn't work."

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19 April 2013 6:07 PM

It is a city where the automobile is as common as the constellation of movie stars that inhabit its golden boulevards.

But Los Angeles tourism chiefs are keen to offer visitors a greener image of Tinseltown with the launch of its 'Car Free LA' initiative on Monday - Earth Day.

A range of free itineraries - available online - will show travellers how they can enjoy some of the city's iconic sights by bike, public transport, or on foot.

New itineraries to avoid gas guzzling include the chance to explore Hollywood by Metro and walking, taking in the Roosevelt Hotel and Universal Studios along the way.

Or why not hit the city's beaches by bike or on two legs, swinging by Santa Monica Pier and Pacific Park, travelling to Muscle Beach and rounding it all off with a spot of shopping on Santa Monica’s Main Street.

The delights of Downtown can be discovered by taking a turn on Angel’s Flight, the world’s shortest railway, and hopping on board the Expo Line to Exposition Park where the Natural History Museum and California Science Centre await.

This weekend will see the first 'CicLAvia' of 2013, an initiative where parts of the city are closed to cars.

Vehicles will be banished from 15 miles of open road in Venice Boulevard and downtown Los Angeles for 'Ciclavia - to the sea', the longest stretch yet. Two more areas of the city will follow in June and September.

Over the last two years, 120 miles of new cycle tracks have been laid out and a bike sharing scheme much like London's will eventually see 4,000 take to the road with 400 rental 'kiosks' stationed throughout the city.

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It is the Golden Globe-winning HBO show that has wooed fans in every demographic. Fantasy television series Game of Thrones, currently airing its third series, is proving so popular that dedicated followers are beating a path to the real-life destinations that double up as towns and cities on the fictional continents of Westeros and Essos.

Hotel deals operator LateRooms.com have said they've seen a 100 per cent spike in interest in the Moroccan desert town of Ouarzazate while Iceland has had a 13% boost. The company said Dubrovnik also saw a spike of 28% after been seen on screen in the second series in 2012.

There's more travel temptations to come too...filming of the fourth
season, which stars Charles Dance and Alfie Allen, brother of Lily, will
return to the Adriatic coast. Croatia's honeyed southern city of
Dubrovnik will provide a base for the show's actors and crew. Producers
are currently said to be location spotting in the country ahead of
filming in August.

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17 April 2013 3:58 PM

Smashing news for Wallace & Gromit fans: Blackpool Pleasure Beach has teamed up with Aardman to launch the world’s first ride based on the dynamic duo.

The Thrill-O-Matic is set to launch on the April 24 and will feature characters from the animated adventures, as well as classic scenes from A Close Shave, A Matter of Loaf and Death, the Wrong Trousers and The Curse of the Were Rabbit.

With an investment of £5.25 million, the Thrill-O-Matic will be an indoor ride, whizzing around adventure-seekers in a giant Wallace slipper.

The four-minute ride will feature details such as a holiday brochure to the moon and special
effects bringing Wallace’s cracking contraptions to life.

Managing Director of Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Amanda Thompson OBE, said: "Wallace & Gromit have a special place in the heart of lots of people so we thought it would be an ideal fit to have their first ride here at Blackpool Pleasure Beach."

Visitors will also be able to pick up exclusive merchandise from the Wallace & Gromit shop, including modelling kits, mugs, pin badges and even rather questionable cheese-flavoured rock.

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J-pop, Anime, Manga - pop culture is certainly one of Japan's biggest exports. And one British town which is particularly enamoured is, erm, Leicester.

On the weekend of May 4 and 5, Leicester's Space Centre is to host a weekend event dedicated to the cross-over culture from Japan into the UK.

The town more famous for its cheese and ancient Roman remains will celebrate Japanese food, fashion, art, crafts, sport and music with workshops, demonstrations, tastings and talks, catwalk shows and competitions. There will even be a chance for visitors to try their hand at drawing Anime and
Manga characters, and watch live martial arts demonstrations.

Teen pop star, Beckii Cruel, who appeared in the BBC Three show Beckii: Schoolgirl Superstar! and received over 14 million YouTube downloads, will headline the main stage, along with J:pop group Oishii!Ichigo.

The stage will also host demonstrations of Japanese food from Harrods favourites, Yuki’s Kitchen, drumming from UK Taiko group, Tamashii Daiko and martial arts from Leicester born Kwoklyn Wan and his Urban Martial Arts team.

The special guest will be Lawrence Simpson, a writer on comic series Project Jikoku and contibutor to online magazines Anime Picks and Crunchyroll.

He'll be joined by some of the UK’s best Manga and Anime artists, including Hayden Scott-Baron (aka: Dock) from Sweatdrop studios, the UK's leading Anime and Manga studio.

Visitors can also sample delights from the specialist Japanese market, which will be selling art, games, fashion and food including Dorayaki, chunky Japanese pancakes, throughout the weekend.

The whole weekend is rounded off with four Cosplay Catwalk Competitions, to highlight fashions from Japan. Entrants to the competition can win prizes all weekend, including a top prize worth over £250.

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16 April 2013 5:44 PM

With their wide mouths, giant bodies, exotic appearance – and the frisson that comes with any mention of the S-word – basking sharks are rarely associated with the British Isles.

These great (and entirely harmless) creatures are often found in warm equatorial waters.

But anyone wishing to catch a close glimpse of these plankton-devouring beasts (which can grow to 12 metres) does not need to flit the horizon. They can do so rather closer to home.

It is a scarcely known fact that the Isle of Man is a hotspot for sightings of these slow-moving fish (the second largest fish on the planet, after the whale shark, to be precise). And with basking-shark season on the Isle running from mid-May to mid-August the time for fins peeping through the chill blue surface of the Irish Sea is drawing close.

The west coast is the place for moments with these marine giants – as the image above, taken just off Port Erin, at the south-west tip of the Isle, demonstrates.

The small, pretty port of Peel, midway up the west coast, is another key site – as is the idyllic Niarbyl Bay, which runs between Port Erin and Peel.

Shark-spotting trips can be taken with tour companies such as Gemini Charter, which operates out of Port St Mary (on the south coast) and Peel (01624 832761; www.geminicharter.co.uk; prices from £25 per person for a three-hour cruise.)

Just remember not to let the Jaws theme play in your head – and note that, unless you happen to be plankton, these residents of the deep are largely friendly.

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Spring has finally sprung and the National Trust is encouraging us all to make the most of the sun (fingers crossed) this weekend by offering free admission to over 200 of its houses and gardens.

History buffs can step back in time with Lord and Lady Astor at Cliveden House in Berkshire (pictured above), or take part in a free guided history tour at Morden Hall Park in south London and Tudor games at Little Moreton Hall in Cheshire.

There'll also be a medieval weaponry course at Corfe Castle in Dorset (pictured below) and a medieval mysteries walk in Towthorpe in Yorkshire.

Children’s storytelling at Biddulph Grange in Staffordshire, a teddy bear’s picnic in the Kymin in Wales and a Barefoot Trail at Godolphin House in Cornwall should keep the little ones entertained.

And green-fingered visitors can enjoy the daffodils at Gibside gardens in Gateshead (pictured below) or meet the gardener at Ormesby Hall near Middlesborough.

Plus, you can celebrate St George’s Day early with a dragon trail at Newark Park in south Gloucestershire, jousting at Bodiam Castle in East Sussex and a St George’s Day fair at The Vyne in Hampshire - complete with Morris Men and a dragon.